I had dual union provided health insurance that paid 100% of the costs of my care and recovery from the stroke that HELLP gave me at my daughter's birth. After HELLP struck with no warning, I needed $11,000 in blood transfusions, a craniotomy and a tracheotomy, 6 weeks on life support, 6 months in hospitals and 18 months of cognitive and physical therapies to recover from the stroke/liver rupture HELLP caused and was BLESSED to have the insurance I had (which I earned from working in a high stress unionized field for more than ten years) and also earned by my husband after I told him that he could negotiate health insurance as part of his deal though his was not a union job. Ultimately, my care cost more than $2 million and my policy used to have a $2 million cap on insurance pay outs meaning that I could no longer remain covered but luckily Obamacare (aka "The affordable Care act") passed, removing lifetime caps so now I can retain coverage, though it isn't as GREAT as it used to be now that it is SINGLE coverage rather than DUAL coverage and my union is now requiring monthly premiums from all members. Still, I realize I shouldn't complain. We have been truly blessed.

The cost of my illness to my insurance company was HUGE: as mentioned, more than $2 million, and completely unanticipated by me or my Obstetrician. Mine was to be an "easy" scheduled C-section. My OB had put me on close monitoring prior to HELLP hitting due to a low amniotic fluid scare after I came down with a severe case of the flu (random, not related to HELLP) and then she took me off of monitoring and took me off of the blood thinner and...coincidence? (I'll never know) HELLP hit within 36 hours, nearly killing me. Though I've been told that ceasing lovenox probably had NO RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER to me getting ill I have a hard time believing it.

Anyway, the costs were huge and I remain grateful for all the care we received that enabled me to make an excellent recovery.

LisaP.S. I was underweight when I conceived, a life long vegetarian and non smoker who did prenatal yoga and swim aerobics while pg. My only added risk factors was that I used DE (donor egg) to conceive and I was over 40 (I was 44 when DE finally worked for us.)

I had dual union provided health insurance that paid 100% of the costs of my care and recovery from the stroke that HELLP gave me at my daughter's birth. After HELLP struck with no warning, I needed $11,000 in blood transfusions, a craniotomy and a tracheotomy, 6 weeks on life support, 6 months in hospitals and 18 months of cognitive and physical therapies to recover from the stroke/liver rupture HELLP caused and was BLESSED to have the insurance I had (which I earned from working in a high stress unionized field for more than ten years) and also earned by my husband after I told him that [u]he could negotiate health insurance as part of his deal[/u] though his was not a union job. Ultimately, my care cost more than $2 million and my policy used to have a $2 million cap on insurance pay outs meaning that I could no longer remain covered but luckily Obamacare (aka "The affordable Care act") passed, removing lifetime caps so now I can retain coverage, though it isn't as GREAT as it used to be now that it is SINGLE coverage rather than DUAL coverage and my union is now requiring monthly premiums from all members. Still, I realize I shouldn't complain. We have been truly blessed.

The cost of my illness to my insurance company was HUGE: as mentioned, more than $2 million, and completely unanticipated by me or my Obstetrician. Mine was to be an "easy" scheduled C-section. My OB had put me on close monitoring prior to HELLP hitting due to a low amniotic fluid scare after I came down with a severe case of the flu (random, not related to HELLP) and then she took me off of monitoring and took me off of the blood thinner and...coincidence? (I'll never know) HELLP hit within 36 hours, nearly killing me. Though I've been told that ceasing lovenox probably had NO RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER to me getting ill I have a hard time believing it.

Anyway, the costs were huge and I remain grateful for all the care we received that enabled me to make an excellent recovery.

LisaP.S. I was underweight when I conceived, a life long vegetarian and non smoker who did prenatal yoga and swim aerobics while pg. My only added risk factors was that I used DE (donor egg) to conceive and I was over 40 (I was 44 when DE finally worked for us.)

I am in CA and had amazing insurance when I had my son and only paid $250.00 for the hospital stay. Now, we have the same insurance provider, but a through a different employer, and we now have a $500.00 deductible, but don't foresee many bills. If I had enrolled in my companyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s insurance HMO plan then I would be paying lots and lots.

I have heard that insurance premiums are much higher, up to twice as expensive, in California compared to most states. I have never tried to get individual insurance, I always have gotten insurance through my husband or my own employment, so I do not know if PE is considered a preexisting condition, since we always fall with in the group plan.

Many of my co-worker opt for individual insurance through a huge HMO that owns its own hospitals and employees the staff too (Can't name names on the forum). They felt the premiums were lower and the coverage was better then what our company provides. I would definitely shop around.

Good Luck

I am in CA and had amazing insurance when I had my son and only paid $250.00 for the hospital stay. Now, we have the same insurance provider, but a through a different employer, and we now have a $500.00 deductible, but don't foresee many bills. If I had enrolled in my companyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s insurance HMO plan then I would be paying lots and lots.

I have heard that insurance premiums are much higher, up to twice as expensive, in California compared to most states. I have never tried to get individual insurance, I always have gotten insurance through my husband or my own employment, so I do not know if PE is considered a preexisting condition, since we always fall with in the group plan.

Many of my co-worker opt for individual insurance through a huge HMO that owns its own hospitals and employees the staff too (Can't name names on the forum). They felt the premiums were lower and the coverage was better then what our company provides. I would definitely shop around.

I would recommend the kind of plan where you pay a co-pay rather than a % of the bill with a yearly cap on out of pocket expenses. I paid $50 per day, maximum $250 for my hospital stay and maternity care was included basically free. My daughter's tab came to $200,000 for 3 weeks of care. I haven't yet seen a bill for my portion of that but I know it will be much, much smaller.
You might also look into a medical savings account. I put money into that out of every pay check tax free, so they take $100 out of my paycheck, but it only feels like $70. I then use that to reimburse myself for all my medical expenses- so I dont have to use after tax dollars. It works out nicely. And if there's any money left over you can use it for other stuff- like over the counter medications, first aid supplies, etc.
As for the preexisting condition thing, I don't think they would see it that way if you had it previously, just if you are pregnant currently and have it. For me, my high blood pressure has continued beyond the pregnancy so they would probably see that as a preexisting condition, but not the preeclampsia.

I would recommend the kind of plan where you pay a co-pay rather than a % of the bill with a yearly cap on out of pocket expenses. I paid $50 per day, maximum $250 for my hospital stay and maternity care was included basically free. My daughter's tab came to $200,000 for 3 weeks of care. I haven't yet seen a bill for my portion of that but I know it will be much, much smaller.
You might also look into a medical savings account. I put money into that out of every pay check tax free, so they take $100 out of my paycheck, but it only feels like $70. I then use that to reimburse myself for all my medical expenses- so I dont have to use after tax dollars. It works out nicely. And if there's any money left over you can use it for other stuff- like over the counter medications, first aid supplies, etc.
As for the preexisting condition thing, I don't think they would see it that way if you had it previously, just if you are pregnant currently and have it. For me, my high blood pressure has continued beyond the pregnancy so they would probably see that as a preexisting condition, but not the preeclampsia.

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has been discussed already. I searched but couldn't find anything.
I'm wondering how PE and health insurance work... Does PE count as "preexisting condition" for instance? For those of you who were on hospital bed rest, what did you end up paying for?
We moved to CA a year ago, after I gave birth to our daughter. Diagnosed with PE at 27 weeks, I stayed in the hospital for 6 weeks. They induced at 33w. With the awesome insurance plan we had, we did not see one bill, for me or for my daughter (2 weeks in the NICU). Our CA insurance plan is horrible though (are they all like that here?). Since we'd like to try for a second baby in 1-2 years, I'm wondering what we can do with our insurance so that we don't end up totally broke if I have to be in the hospital for an extended period of time again, etc.
I'd love to hear your stories! Thanks!

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has been discussed already. I searched but couldn't find anything.
I'm wondering how PE and health insurance work... Does PE count as "preexisting condition" for instance? For those of you who were on hospital bed rest, what did you end up paying for?
We moved to CA a year ago, after I gave birth to our daughter. Diagnosed with PE at 27 weeks, I stayed in the hospital for 6 weeks. They induced at 33w. With the awesome insurance plan we had, we did not see one bill, for me or for my daughter (2 weeks in the NICU). Our CA insurance plan is horrible though (are they all like that here?). Since we'd like to try for a second baby in 1-2 years, I'm wondering what we can do with our insurance so that we don't end up totally broke if I have to be in the hospital for an extended period of time again, etc.
I'd love to hear your stories! Thanks!